Enchanted Woods
by Lenesa11
Summary: Colonel Jack O'Neill is injured and alone on an uncharted planet. His team is mysteriously missing. What's a colonel to do?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

He laid still, extreme pain and a burning sensation waking him from a coma-like sleep. Tall trees above him swayed with the wind and the light of the planet's sun filtered brightly through the tree tops, temporarily blinding him. He was alone . . . unable to remember how he got to where he was. Shrubbery surrounded him, protecting him from being seen.

Colonel O'Neill moved gingerly to sit up on his elbows, quietly groaning in painful agony. His P90 lay within his reach. Slowly panning to the right and left to observe his surroundings, no other signs of life were seen nor was there evidence of any skirmish. He glanced at his watch . . . the time displayed was 1300 hours. The day of the week displayed was Thursday. _Wait a minute! It's Wednesday, isn't it?_ His mind was a little fuzzy now. And his head hurt; oh, how it hurt!

There were no responses from his radio call to the rest of the team. His memory was correct of being with his team, wasn't it? But where were they? _So much for no man being left behind!_ Something was screwy and just not right about this scenario.

He looked down to the direction of his pain locating it on the right side of his torso under the ribs. A large blood stain from the open wound and a hole in his shirt with burned edges revealed the origin of his agony. His emergency mode slowly kicked into action. A military 3-day pack was lying about two yards from where he was wounded. In it were basic medical emergency supplies along with necessary provisions. He made a successful, though painful, crawl to the backpack, retrieved the emergency kit, and managed to bandage the wound. "Hmm, looks like a staff wound. Where is a sarcophagus when you need one?" he muttered to himself.

He positioned the backpack to rest upon. A medium sized rock was seen at the place where he woke up. He felt the back of his head and saw blood on his hand. Oh great, another head injury to add to the list of many. His vision was fine, but the incessant throbbing was making him nauseous. _Oh, god. Here it comes!_ He hurled, emptying his stomach.

Resting against the backpack, he laid the P90 on his chest under his left arm. _Damn this wound! Why couldn't it have been on the left side?_ He wasn't ambidextrous so he'd have to rely on his left hand. He positioned his left index finger on the trigger, just in case. The pain meds were kicking in. He would eventually come up with a plan to find his team, but right now a nap . . .

Several hours passed. He finally awoke to find that the planet's sun was beginning to set. Two huge, _honkin_ ' moons were now visible. He thought and made the decision to leave his temporary rest area as soon as darkness fell. The moons would provide ample illumination as he journeyed through the forest. "There's got to be a 'gate somewhere!" he said in frustration as he stood up.

He heaved the pack on his back, cringing at and cursing the pain. Despite the pain meds, his head and side still hurt. _Damn!_

There was no discernable wooded path seen, so he decided to follow the horizon of the mountain range to his right. Surely there would be a stream or river somewhere in the area of the valley.

A couple of hours passed and the journey was slow-going. Suddenly, a campfire was seen blazing, illuminating square-shaped huts surrounding it.

O'Neill knelt behind the trunk of a tree and set the pack down beside him. He reached in a side pocket, pulled out his night vision binoculars and focused the lenses. No signs of movement could be seen. _The campers must be inside the huts_ he reasoned. He continued to observe the site for any movements. Thank god his headache was less painful now which made it easier to be mentally focused.

For what seemed like an eternity, movement of something was seen coming from one of the huts. It looked like a huge bear. _What the hell?_

Walking upright, it passed the campfire which illuminated its colorful fur—long strands of pink, light blue, yellow, and white—and it walked into another hut disappearing through its entrance. "I know I've been on strong pain meds, but colorful fur?" He lowered the binoculars to look around at the trees and shrubbery to adapt his eyes to the moons' light to see if anything else displayed differing colors. Finding no anomalies, he raised the binoculars to his eyes and continued to observe the campsite. He shook his head and mumbled, "Whew! Then I'm not hallucinating!"

Half an hour later more of the rotund furry and colorful creatures came into view. He watched as they sat around the campfire, the blaze now reduced to small flames. They were communicating to each other in whiny chirping tones.

Not knowing whether they would be friend or foe made him uneasy. He decided to camp for the night and to explore more in the morning.

Early the next morning, he sensed a shadow falling across him. He opened his eyes and looked up to find three rotund furry and colorful creatures standing around him. He gulped and didn't move. One of the furry and colorful creatures motioned for him to follow. His first inclination was to respond with an emphatic _No, don't think so!_ But there was something about these creatures that made him slowly reduce his defenses. "Oh, what the hell. No staff weapons or star-shaped explosives. This could be interesting!" he said to himself as he stood up.

There was no way of determining their gender. They all looked the same to him, each one standing about four feet in height. In fact, they were cute in an alien sort of way. They had large brown eyes and flat black noses. Their round ears moved to and fro when O'Neill spoke. One of the creatures lifted his pack. O'Neill reached for it indicating that it belonged to him, but the creature pointed to the area of his wound and shook his head indicating "No _._ ""Okay,"he responded as he stepped back. "Now how do you suppose he knew I was injured?" the puzzled colonel asked himself.

He followed them with ease. The creatures communicated amongst themselves. He came to the conclusion that the only way he'd be able to communicate with them would be through some sort of sign language. The hand, or paw, signal for _Follow me_ was easy enough to understand.

Other furry and colorful creatures, all looking the same as the three that found O'Neill, waited at the edge of the campsite for their arrival. The whiny chirping began in earnest and became louder. It appeared they were excited at the discovery of this strange creature. _Don't they have enough company? Little ole' me shouldn't make that much of an impact!_

All the campers gathered around O'Neill, their whiny chirping now in whispers. They observed him with kind eyes and didn't touch him. He was feeling a bit self-conscious about their interest, but a few moments later they slowly dispersed, one motioning him to follow. "Hmm, he must be the leader of the pack."

O'Neill followed the leader of the pack into the first hut on his right. When he entered, he saw two small furry and colorful creatures of the same description, but one with a pink nose and one with a black nose, sitting next to a larger furry and colorful creature with a pink nose. He smiled at them and said, mostly to himself, "Must be the wife and kids."

The leader of the pack set down O'Neill's backpack next to a bedding of leaves and motioned him to sit. He obliged and slowly sat down, holding his side and wincing. The "wife" looked at him with empathy, sensing his pain. The leader of the pack pointed his paw to the site of the injury apparently wanting to see it. O'Neill waved him off indicating there was no need. His whiny chirping began and he pointed with more vigor which O'Neill translated as "Let me see your injury." He raised his black t-shirt revealing the bandages. The whiny chirping stopped and the leader of the pack grunted. He walked to the other side of the hut and returned with a small round object with an attached strap that fit comfortably around his paw. "Whoa! Wait a minute! You're not going to use that thing on me!" O'Neill yelled as he quickly stood up and stepped away. The shape of the object looked just like a one of those Gao'uld mind altering things. The leader of the pack gently pulled O'Neill's arm to indicate for him to sit down. He held the Gao'uld looking thing just above O'Neill's wound and in a few seconds a warm, soothing white light emerged from the object onto the wound and healed it within a few seconds.

O'Neill looked down at the now non-existent wound in amazement, touching his skin to validate that what he witnessed wasn't an illusion. He looked up at the leader of the pack, smiled and gave a short nod in appreciation. The leader of the pack briefly closed his eyes, nodded, and walked back to return the object to its storage place. _Carter needs to see that! A hand held sarcophagus!_

Now that he was healed, he had to come up with some way to communicate to the furry and colorful creatures to ask if they saw or heard anything that might give him clues as to what happened to his team. He imagined all sorts of scenarios; Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c in some godforsaken alien hard labor camp in another galaxy or taken to a Gao'uld ship for a snake insertion ceremony or worse. He shivered thinking of the dire possibilities.

The "wife" having watched the healing event presented O'Neill with food. He wasn't crazy about eating the strange looking foodstuff, but considered it may gain their trust and hopefully their help. The two small furry and colorful creatures looked on in wide-eyed wonder.

He bit into a round shaped food that looked like a spiky tomato. Surprisingly, it tasted good. It was beefy in texture and a little sweet. There was an assortment of other colorful food on the wooden plate. Feeling no ill effects from the "spiky tomato," he tried each of the other foods, surprised at each flavorful bite.

The "wife" took the empty wooden plate from O'Neill and walked to what appeared to be a small kitchen. The two small furry and colorful creatures padded behind her, following her closely.

He looked upon the "wife and kids" and smiled. It was evident they were peaceful and socially adept beings. The leader of the pack was quietly sitting adjacent to him having observed him as he ate.

O'Neill turned to the leader of the pack, raised his eyebrows and smiled. _Damn, communication is going to be a bear!_ he thought to himself, amused by his pun.

He studied the contents of the hut and noticed on the inside walls hieroglyphic-type drawings. He stood up and walked to one wall and thought, _Daniel would love this!_ His own untrained interpretation of the symbols was that they reflected the society of the furry and colorful creatures; their dwellings, the creatures themselves, and . . . Gao'ulds? He stepped in for a closer look. Yep, those are Gao'ulds alright. The drawings revealed eyes that were white, symbolizing glowing eyes, on human forms. He turned to find the leader of the pack standing directly behind him. The look in his eyes reflected sadness. It was apparent this drawing was a story, a sad story of the destruction of their peaceful existence at some point in time.

O'Neill racked his brain to come up with some type of hand signal to indicate a battle or war. He pointed to his side where the wound was and then to the drawings. The leader of the pack responded with a low cry, then a whiny chirping tone. "Okay, now we're getting somewhere!"

The leader of the pack pointed to his ears. Then he pointed to the drawing of a moon. "Okay, moon . . . comes out at night. Ears are for hearing." _He must have heard something at night, the night before?_

The colonel made further attempts to communicate. He walked to the entrance of the hut and motioned for the leader of the pack to follow. They both stepped outside. O'Neill pointed to the ears of the leader of the pack and then to the wooded forest. The leader of the pack harrumphed and got excited. He bent his legs at the knees and moved up and down indicating that he understood O'Neill's signs. His whiny chirping tone was low and rapid—Translation: "I heard a noise in the woods." The leader of the pack was getting louder—Translation: "There was screaming." He then made a sound like an explosion. "Okay. There was shooting!" O'Neill surmised.

He was getting excited himself. He knew he had to come up with a signal that would indicate that there may have been a lot of individuals seen in the forest. He found a stick on the ground and began to draw human forms as best he could, lots of them. The leader of the pack bent his legs at the knees again and moved up and down in rapid succession. "Okay, a lot of individuals," he said as he waved his arms about. He looked around for something white to represent the eyes of the human-like drawings and found some white pebbles. He placed them on his drawings. The leader of the pack began to make low mournful noises.

O'Neill wondered which faction of the Gao'uld he had seen, but it was enough to know the Gao'uld had been in the forest and had taken his team. The only thing he couldn't figure was why was he left alone?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to all who have responded so kindly to my first Stargate SG1 fanfic! Talk about inspiration! Please R &R if you'd like to-Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The light from the uncharted planet's rising sun slowly filtered in through the window openings, fading the darkness of night inside the little adobe hut. It's four-sided corners were rounded and capped with a thatched roof. Its inhabitants were waking up and beginning to go about their daily routines. O'Neill's peaceful slumber was disturbed by the "kids" running around and chirping incessantly. _God,_ he thought to himself as he lay half asleep, _where do they get their energy?_

He sat up on his thick bedding of leaves that lay on the dirt floor in a corner of the hut, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and ran his tongue over his teeth. _A good_ _brushing is in order_ he thought to himself. He ran his hands through his disheveled hair and drew his knees toward his chest, forearms resting on his knees. As he watched the "kids" at their play, memories of Charlie flooded in out of nowhere. Full of boundless energy as most youngsters are, this particular memory revealed a six-year-old Charlie running into Jack and Sara's bedroom. It was early on a Sunday morning and he shouted, "Mommy, Daddy, wake up!" as he crawled onto their bed. He jumped up and down, giggling as O'Neill playfully grabbed and tickled him. Sara joined in and their laughter echoed in the room. It seemed like yesterday, and, yes, the pain of losing his only child still cut through him like a serrated knife.

He cleared his throat as he put away his grief into its mental compartment. He reached for his pack, unzipped its main compartment, and began rummaging through the field rations. The "kids" stopped playing and became quiet. From the periphery of his vision, O'Neill could see them slowly approaching, shy and curious as to what he was doing. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a small package of crackers to share with them. He looked up and smiled as they stood patiently. As he slowly opened the package he said, "Well, little campers, it looks like I may be here for a while, so I've been thinking. I can't keep referring to you as "kids", so I'm going to give each of you a proper name." As he placed a cracker on each upturned paw of the small black-nosed creature, he said, "Your name will be _Bart._ And your name," he continued while placing a cracker on each upturned paw of the small pink-nosed creature, "will be Lisa." Their noses twitched, apparently in appreciation for their treat and they walked quickly to where the "parents" were standing and watching the interaction between the human and their "kids." The leader of the pack looked at O'Neill and gave a short nod. O'Neill returned the gesture, assuming it translated to mean _Thanks_.

Oh, what he would give for a large cup of _real_ coffee about now—percolated, fresh brewed, anything but powdered. He'd been on a lot of missions in his career, but was still not used to the powdered variety. There was no campfire yet inside the hut, so he walked bent over outdoors through the short doorway to the main campfire to heat water for his coffee. The inside height of the hut and its doorway did not accommodate O'Neill's six-foot-one-inch frame.

The campfire burned vigorously heating his water-filled pot quickly. He had found water in a large trough carved from the trunk of a tree that sat outside the hut beneath the roof line, ostensibly to collect rainwater. He'd seen the "family" drink from it so he presumed the water safe to drink. However, he added a chlorine tablet to the pot as a precautionary measure. Returning inside with his hot water, he proceeded to prepare his coffee and chose a breakfast consisting of a package of cheese and crackers. He calculated there would be enough field rations for a couple more days or so. As he spread the cheese on his crackers, the "wife" of the leader of the pack brought a wooden plate laden with food. He accepted it with a wry smile and a short nod. Nestled again among the food items was one of those red spiky tomatoes! Add a steak and eggs breakfast to that wish list!

After breakfast, O'Neill put on his military vest and picked up his trusty P90 that was leaning against the wall next to the head of his bed. With its safety feature on, the P90 rested against his body supported by a shoulder strap. His right hand held the weapon close and was poised for quick movement in the event of danger.

It was a bright sunny day, so he wore his signature dark shades. The size of the village comprised of many acres covered with short, lush green grass, tall trees, and little colorful wildflowers interspersed throughout here and there. He looked down at the flowers observing the colors. "Whoa!"he said as he stepped back. "Did they just wink at me?" He lifted his shades from his eyes, looked away and down again at the flowers. No winks this time. "Huh! Strange!" he said as he returned the shades over his eyes and continued his walk, avoiding any eye contact with any other small flowers along the way.

A few areas of barren ground was seen, particularly near and around the campsite where he now stood. He concluded it was their communal activity area having remembered the creatures being around the campfire the night before. "Maybe they dance around the fire to the planet's gods or something," he reasoned wryly.

He continued his stroll, mentally counting the number of the inhabitants that were milling about. He totaled around 70 adult-sized and child-sized creatures, possibly more. The number of the pink-nosed creatures was about the same as the black-nosed creatures. Because of the low population, he wondered if they were near extinction or if there were other pockets of the creatures' communities elsewhere on the planet.

He observed them as they went about their morning. The village was abuzz with activity. "God, Daniel would **really** love this!" he said as he chuckled out loud. The creatures watched him curiously as he strolled. He noticed his host, the leader of the pack, being greeted by the other creatures passing by with what appeared to be a sign of respect—a short bow with some chirping. _Hmm, the little guy_ _must be the mayor or something,_ O'Neill thought to himself. _"I'll call him Mayor."_

The "kids" played on the grassy areas near their huts and the "mothers" supervised. The "fathers" were seen performing minor tasks related to the maintenance of their village huts, adding thatch to some, and replacing a trough here and there with freshly carved-out tree trunks. The scent of the new troughs wafted through the air. The creatures' adeptness at performing tasks without thumbs was amazing. They used both paws successfully for grasping their antiquated tools and other items, items that he deemed to be in stark contrast to the handheld, technologically advanced sarcophagus that healed him the day before.

"But, how did they build their huts?" O'Neill asked himself as he stood and observed them working, It was clear the creatures would be a bit limited in performing certain tasks requiring a great deal more dexterity. If they received help, who helped them?

Suddenly, calm turned to chaos. The creatures scurried here and there, chirping with low mournful sounds. The "mothers" hovered over their children and the "fathers" ushered their families into their respective huts. Suddenly O'Neill was alone, stunned at the quick exodus. He had heard no alarms or any other sounds that would have frightened them into seclusion. He quickly looked around with his P90 poised, safety off, and trigger finger at the ready. From his vantage point near one of the huts, he could see past it and ahead into the nearby forest . . . nothing. Looking upwards to the sky, he pointed the P90 . . . again nothing. He continued to visually scan the area left and right, but . . . nothing.

He reactivated the safety feature on his P90 and quickly trotted to the hut of Mayor and his family. He found them holding onto each other with intense fear in their wide brown eyes. Then slowly, ever so slowly, their fur coats lost its luster and faded to gray . . . a lifeless, shabby gray.

"What just happened?" O'Neill asked as he slowly knelt down on his good knee. Standing bent over was creating havoc with his back. Bewildered by the transformation, he rubbed his eyes and shook his head quickly in an effort to refocus. They stood quietly still clinging to one another.

Communication with these creatures was challenging at best. O'Neill raised his eyebrows and pointed to Mayor's ears, remembering their communication attempt the day before. Mayor bent his knees and moved up-and-down, the same as the day before, and emitted low mournful cries—he had apparently heard something, as did the others.

After a few moments, O'Neill snapped his fingers. "Supersonic hearing!," he said in a low voice as he looked into Mayor's eyes with amazement. "That explains why I didn't hear anything!" Now if only he could find out what frightened his little buddies.

He stood, bent over, and headed toward the entrance of the hut despite the protestations of Mayor and his family. He cleared the entrance and stood up outside looking for clues to explain their panic. The other creatures continued hiding inside their huts.

As he stood watch, his mind wandered briefly to the winking flowers and these creatures with colored fur. "This is an odd place," he muttered to himself. "Almost magical, in an alien sort of way."

Nothing was seen out of the ordinary, so he walked back into his hosts' hut. He motioned for Mayor to follow him outside. He refused. O'Neill tried several hand gestures to indicate that it would be safe to venture outside. Finally, Mayor relented and followed him out through the entrance.

He watched Mayor for any signs of fear. A few moments passed and Mayor began chirping loudly as if announcing an all clear. And within a few seconds, the colors and luster of his fur slowly and gradually returned to its colorful state. O'Neill removed his shades and stood in awe at the transformation.

Mayor's family came outside. Within seconds, the luster and colors of their fur returned. The rest of the creatures came outside and one by one their fur that had turned to gray earlier was slowly and gradually returning to their colorful hues.

"Sweet!" was O'Neill's only reply.

Now that calm had returned, O'Neill decided to venture beyond the village for a fact-finding mission of the surrounding area of whatever it was that frightened the village inhabitants. He also wondered if there were other creatures residing on the planet. He also hoped he would stumble on a clue to the whereabouts of his team.

He went inside the hut to retrieve his backpack in the event his exploration took longer than he had planned. As he walked through the village, the creatures followed, chirping amongst themselves. They held their paws in front of their furry rotund bodies as they moved in short, quick strides. They stopped at the perimeter of the village and began to chirp loudly. O'Neill turned and saw them waving their paws. He smiled, waved back, and turned to continue his hike. The creatures then quietly watched as their human friend entered the surrounding forest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The likelihood of finding his team was slowly diminishing. O'Neill was becoming increasingly frustrated.

This planet didn't seem real somehow. He wondered if he was in a kind of alternate universe that Carter talked about from time to time, though he still didn't completely understand the scientific explanation of such a thing.

The noonday sun was high in the sky. It was reminiscent of Earth's sun; its brightness, color, and its distance from the planet. Considering the surrounding wooded areas, the planet's sun appeared to serve the same purpose as Earth's in nourishing plant life and providing daylight for the orb.

As he hiked, his thoughts turned to his team. Daniel was the only space monkey he wanted to see right now. Carter's strength and courage in battle made her a force to be reckoned with. He didn't think she had a prissy bone in her body, yet she was so feminine. Teal'c . . . well Teal'c was Teal'c. When the big Jaffa spoke in that powerful, booming voice, people listened.

Sighing heavily and readjusting his dark shades, he willed himself to set aside sentimentality and to focus on the task at hand.

The terrain was a little hilly now and was slowly becoming more dense with vegetation. The temperature of the air was beginning to cool in contrast to the tepid air of the village below. He stopped near some bushes and set down his P90. The backpack was lowered to the ground and a pair of field glasses were removed from an inside compartment. Bent down on his good knee, he scanned the vastness of the area, the field glasses at their highest magnification.

"No 'gate," he muttered. Panning left, right, then upwards to the surrounding hills, he uttered in a defeated tone, "No one! Damn it! Nothing!"

Needing a break from having hiked several hours, he chose a shady spot under a tree and rummaged inside the backpack for an energy bar and a water-filled canteen. He sat with his back against the trunk of the tree, his legs straightened and crossed at the ankles. As he munched his impromptu snack, his thoughts turned to the furry creatures that he'd encountered the day before and felt appreciative of the fact they saved his life. As to what frightened them earlier, he had no clue. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary so far. Hopefully, whatever caused them to be frightened was gone and wouldn't return.

He continued to reflect on the little guys. As he ate, he thought, _They should have a name._

He drank some water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Let's see . . . Furballs? Naw, reminds me too much of cats,"he muttered to himself. He looked down to the ground as he doodled with a stick on a small patch of dirt. "Little Sasquatch? Definitely no," he said as he chuckled to could see Daniel's face scrunch up at the mention of one of his suggestions.

He continued to doodle. He looked up to the sky and realized he missed being on the roof deck of his house at night, looking through his telescope at the stars and planets of Earth's galaxy.

He recalled reading a book he bought a long while ago describing the Earth's constellations and the origins of their names. He remembered that the Latin term for the Big Dipper, or Great Bear, is Ursa Major and that Ursa is derived from the Latin word _ursus_ for _bear_.

"Wait now," he said as he tilted his chin, eyes squinted in thought. "If Ursus refers to _a_ bear, then the plural form would be _Ursi_."

Feeling pleased with himself, he proudly stood and formally declared, "The furry and colorful little creatures of this uncharted planet shall be forever known as 'The Ursi'!" And feeling just as foolish as if he had shouted out loud in a quiet library, he slowly sat back down.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew through the tree tops, then slowed to a gentle breeze. O'Neill looked up thinking he'd heard something other than the wind. It was a faint sound. He cocked his head slightly to listen more closely. It sounded like . . .

"Aw, come on! Music?" Again, he listened closely. ". . . a harp?" He gulped and said, "N-o-pe, uh-uh, don't think this is heaven. I'm pretty sure I'M ALIVE AND KICKING!" he shouted, looking around nervously as if someone was watching or could hear him.

"This is the wackiest planet I've ever been on!" he mumbled as he slowly stood up, continuing to look around. "Completely WACKO!" He quickly stowed his trash and water bottle into his pack, positioned it on his back, and cautiously resumed his hike.

About a half hour later, he came upon an area of very dense vegetation. He sighed and put down his pack to retrieve a hatchet to use to clear a path. The P90 was set down by his feet. Suddenly he heard a crackling noise as he searched for the tool. He looked up and his eyes widened in astonishment.

Shrubbery parted left and right revealing a path about four feet wide and extending about ten feet. He quickly grabbed his P90, poised for a possible sudden attack. He waited anxiously for a few minutes. Seeing nothing, he took a few more moments to observe the anomaly. "Hmm, parted like the Red Sea," he mumbled. He felt he was really beginning to lose his wits.

Unsure of the safety of that route, he turned to his right in an attempt to continue the hike through another area of dense shrubbery.

"Seriously?" he yelled out as he stopped midstride. "What the . . . ?"

To his amazement, the crackling shrubbery grew much thicker, making it entirely impossible for him to pass through.

He rubbed the back of his neck in irritation as he observed the obstacle. There was turmoil within him to combat the situation and at the same time he felt the need to maintain control of the situation, primarily his sanity. He reasoned the strange events had to have been created by some sort of unknown, unseen supernatural entity.

Resignedly, he shrugged and called out, "Okay. I'll play along."

He turned back towards the mysterious pathway to resume his hike. The pathway continued to clear ahead of him, in sync with each step. He stopped for a moment, chuckled to himself, and said, "All I need now is for this to turn into a yellow-brick road!"

The path continued to slowly clear upwards through the forest making the hike easier to manage. O'Neill pressed on, taking the chance that the path may lead to a clue, or better yet, to his team.

* * *

Major Samantha Carter sat at her computer extremely frustrated. She'd calculated all the formulas known to astrophysics, tried differing scenarios and came up with . . . nothing.

Repeatedly she thought back to the skirmish with Apophis and his Jaffa on planet P73-24B. SG1's mission was to meet secretly with the leaders of their newfound allies, the Gahl'mar, to discuss their request for weapons to defend themselves against Apophis, but the mission ended badly.

Several Jaffa had infiltrated the meeting, posing as members of the Gahl'mar. The attack was swift causing several casualties. SG1 was forced to scrub the mission, opting to retreat through the 'gate for the SGC.

Daniel Jackson arrived at the DHD and quickly dialed for home. Major Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill covered him, peppering their nemeses with bullets from their P90s. Teal'c was ahead of them firing his staff weapon.

Daniel went through the gate first, Teal'c next, and, as she stepped onto the 'gate's platform, Carter quickly looked over her shoulder to see Colonel O'Neill knelt behind the DHD and yelling for her to go on through the gate while covering her. She assumed he would be right behind her as she obeyed his command; however, everyone arrived safely at Stargate Command except him. That was almost three days ago.

She heard a knock on the frame of the opened door to her lab.

"Sam?" Daniel quietly called to her. "Hi! I brought you something to eat."

"Thanks. Not hungry," she replied as she sat motionless, staring at the computer screen. Her face was cupped by both hands, elbows resting on the table.

"When did you last eat?" he asked softly as he placed the wrapped sandwich on the table next to her computer.

"I, I don't remember," she replied as she looked up in thought, taking her eyes off the computer screen for only a second or two. "Yesterday?"

"Do you realize it's three o'clock in the afternoon?" Daniel asked.

She looked at him, her eyes red from lack of sleep and working extensively on the computer. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Daniel, I've gone over and over the possibilities of what could have happened to Ja . . . , um, Colonel O'Neill, but there's nothing."

He gently squeezed her shoulder and replied, "You'll find something. You always do. But, in the meantime, why don't you go home and get some sleep and come back in the morning?" He knew his suggestion would, again, fall on deaf ears.

Despite having taken short naps during this crisis, she was very tired which was making it difficult to think sharply. She glanced at the sandwich then looked at him.

"Daniel, he may have not made it through the 'gate. Or, if he did, what happened to him? I haven't found any problems so far with the wormhole we travelled through on our return to Earth. He could be . . ." Her bottom lip quivered.

"Hey, don't think that!" he replied sympathetically. Even he couldn't bear the thought that O'Neill may have been mortally wounded.

Quiet filled the room. Carter continued to stare at the computer screen, willing a solution to suddenly appear.

She heard her name being called again and slowly looked toward the doorway.

It was Teal'c, his hands behind his back. "MajorCarter," his deep voice speaking softly. "May I enter?"

"Yes, of course Teal'c. Please do," she replied wearily, her hand motioning for him to come in.

"Have you discovered ColonelO'Neill's whereabouts?" he asked. His large brown eyes looked to Daniel whose own facial expression gave him the undesired answer.

"No, nothing yet," she softly replied.

He tilted his head slightly and gave a slow, short nod in acknowledgement. "You will find the answer MajorCarter, of that I am certain."

He and Daniel stood in silence as she continued to sit motionless.

Suddenly, she resumed keying in data. The screen revealed the results.

"I think I've got it!" she murmured.

"You've got what?" a confused Daniel asked as he looked at Teal'c who remained silent.

She began her explanation, her eyes still fixed on the computer screen. "There may have been an anomaly in the wormhole created by something like . . . a strong gravitational flux from a moon," her hands slightly animated in their movement. "It may have caused Colonel O'Neill to be jettisoned to another location on P73-24B. Remember what happened to him and me in the Arctic ?" She paused momentarily as she swung around slowly, seated in her chair, to face Daniel and Teal'c, "Or, he could have been sent to a nearby planet!"

Daniel looked confused. Teal'c raised his right eyebrow. She saw the confusion in Daniel's face, so she continued to explain her theory.

"It's possible that at some point a weak spot occurred along the outer wall of the wormhole. Stress from the gravitational pull of a moon maybe?" She paused again, " Or, if there were more than one moon . . . oh, my god!"

"Sam, what is it?" Daniel asked with concern.

"If a planet near P73-24B has more than one moon, the gravitational pull would be catastrophic if the right conditions existed . . ." Her eyes were wide with concern.

"Okay. So . . . what are the options?" Daniel asked. Teal'c continued to stand in silence.

"Well, we will need to return to P73-24B."

"But, Sam! We almost got killed on that planet!" He wasn't so sure about this.

"I know, but what other choice do we have?" she replied wearily. "We'll have to send the MALP through first. Perhaps Apophis and his Jaffa have left, hopefully without Colonel O'Neill. Once it's safe to go through, I will check the stored addresses from the planet's DHD's main frame when we arrive. From there I may be able to pinpoint his destination, if he went through the gate."

The wheels in her head continued to slowly spin. "If there's no indication that he went through the gate, he will be considered still on the planet. If there are no responses to our radio calls once we arrive, reinforcements will have to be called up to launch a search and rescue mission. This could take days or weeks and time may not be on our side. Are you guys on board?"

Teal'c responded. "I am prepared to accompany you in your mission to locate ColonelO'Neill."

"Daniel?" Carter asked.

"If it were anyone else besides Jack or you guys, I'd have to say no," he replied while rubbing the back of his neck. "But, this is about Jack and getting him home. Okay, I'm in."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, tilted his head, and gave a slow, short nod and replied, "Indeed."

"Okay. We're going to do this," Carter replied reaching for her sandwich and turned seated in her chair to face the computer screen. As she slowly unwrapped the sandwich, she recalled the look on Colonel O'Neill's face before she went through the gate. She shuttered at the memory, never having seen the look before. It was one of acknowledged defeat and putative sacrifice. It was imperative they find him and bring him home, no matter the odds.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: To a guest reviewer questioning the reference to the "yellow brick road" in chapter 3: There were many references (16 according to one website) to the movie,** _ **Wizard of Oz,**_ **in several** _ **Stargate: SG1**_ **episodes, including "The Enemy Within," "1969," and "Urgo." I just couldn't resist adding mine.**

 **Thanks to all who have supported my story—it's been a blast! Hope you enjoy the final chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The MALP made its way through the 'gate to planet P73-24B. Major Carter, sitting down, looked intently at the computer screen in the SGC control room waiting for its transmission. Daniel and Teal'c stood behind her watching anxiously.

Suddenly the dark screen revealed the view from MALP lens. Carter controlled the camera from the ease of the computer, panning it left and right. It was daylight and no creatures or human beings were seen. The MALP continued moving forward, the camera panning left and right. Still no creatures or human beings were seen and there were no indications of any danger. Feeling comfortable in announcing an all-clear, the mission was a "go."

Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c arrived on the planet within seconds of stepping through the 'gate. Carter and Daniel poised their P90s and Teal'c held his staff weapon ready for any surprise assaults.

"Cover me while I check the DHD addresses, just in case," Carter instructed as she looked cautiously side to side for any surprise visitors. Daniel and Teal'c took their places on each side of the device and remained alert.

She opened the back panel near the bottom of the device and proceeded to connect the DHD adaptor to her laptop. The necessary data downloaded quickly.

After returning the DHD panel, she stood and glanced around for any visual signs or clues of O'Neill's whereabouts. Seeing nothing, she radioed him according to plan. No response. She radioed him once more and waited for a response. Still nothing.

"Daniel, Teal'c. Let's spread out and see if we can find Colonel O'Neill." she directed. "I don't have a very good feeling about this."

Their search was entering its second hour. Teal'c and Daniel had been reporting to Carter every 15 minutes— _Nothing yet_.

Carter was beginning to feel despair and concern for her comrade in arms. Time of was the essence in finding Colonel O'Neill, dead or alive. Her walk through the underbrush was easy, except for a rotting piece of tree here and there. She scanned the area meticulously during her search. Suddenly she saw a reflection of something ahead. She radioed Daniel and Teal'c quickening her pace as she told them to come quickly. She had found something.

When she arrived at the scene, she removed her helmet, quickly tossing it aside while simultaneously falling to her knees beside him. She felt for a pulse. It was very weak. She called to him. No response.

O'Neill lay unconscious, a huge blood stain on his shirt. Her observations revealed he had somehow managed to apply first aid to the wound to his torso on the right side. It appeared to be a staff wound.

Daniel and Teal'c could be heard running through the bushes toward her.

"Over here! Hurry!" Sam shouted frantically. "I've found Colonel O'Neill!"

* * *

O'Neill turned to look behind him from where he came as the cleared path ended abruptly not long after resuming his hike. Why had it ended here?

He placed the backpack on the ground and removed his field glasses. Crouched on his good knee, he focused the lens. Panning to his left and right he could see the distant gentle rolling hills, but nothing else.

The bright afternoon sun filtered through the trees. However, his dark shades failed to reduce the intensity of the light. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, raised his shades to the top of his head and rubbed his eyes. The light became increasingly and uncomfortably brighter, temporarily blinding him. He began to hear voices . . .

* * *

A male voice was heard. "He's coming to."

Another male voice, deeper than the other, was heard. "Indeed."

A female voice softly spoke. "Colonel?"

His eyes were barely opened. He saw shadows of figures around him and heard very faint chirping noises.

"Mayor?" he mumbled.

"Sir?" asked the female.

He tried to sit up and groaned in pain. The room was spinning. He was feeling nauseous.

"Whoa, there big fella," said one of the familiar male voices. Helping hands were felt around his shoulders steadying him as he returned to a supine position.

"Jack, it's me. Daniel," he said softly. "Teal'c and Sam are also here." He observed the confused patient, grateful that he finally woke.

O'Neill stared at the three faces that were slowly coming into view. Daniel was to his left, standing next to his bed, hands now in his pants pockets. Teal'c was standing stoically next to Daniel with his hands behind his back, and Carter was to his right, her hand resting on his shoulder, anxiously waiting for him to speak.

He was very disoriented. "Where have you been?" he asked in a groggy, hoarse whisper. "I've . . . been looking for you . . . all day . . . in the forest."

Daniel looked at Teal'c with a slightly stunned expression. Teal'c looked at Carter, his right eyebrow raised. She returned their puzzled expressions then looked back to O'Neill. His face was searching theirs for answers.

"ColonelO'Neill, you have been confined here for a period of four days," Teal'c calmly explained.

O'Neill looked at him confused.

"Four days? But . . . the Ursi . . . " he continued rather groggily.

"The Ursi?" Daniel asked gently while looking toward Teal'c and Carter.

O'Neill weakly pointed to himself with an attempted smirk, "I named them."

Daniel smiled and looked up to the ceiling as O'Neill turned his face to talk to Carter. A slight smile formed on her face.

"Carter . . . ," his voice rather weak, ". . . my staff wound . . . healed!" She looked at him with slightly furrowed brows.

Striving to maintain a professional military demeanor, she proceeded slowly to give him the details.

"Sir, we were on planet P73-24B to meet with the leaders of the Gahl'mar who enlisted our assistance for weapons to fight the Gao'uld. The mission was unsuccessful." She paused making sure he was focused, then continued. "We were ambushed by Apophis and his Jaffa. We managed to escape, but you didn't return through the gate with us." She paused again, then continued.

"After two days of research, I was unable to find any problems with the wormhole that would have prevented you from returning. My only other conclusion was you had possibly been jettisoned to another planet."

She continued, now talking with increased fervor. "Anyway, after our mission to return to the planet to find you was a 'go,' I downloaded the DHD addresses first after our arrival. Afterwards, according to our plan, I radioed you. However, there was no response to my calls. We conducted a search."

"In the event that you were not found, the plan was for me to review the downloaded DHD addresses upon our return to the SGC to search for the possibility of your having been flung to a different planet . . ."

"Carter!" he groaned with a hoarseness in his voice. His eyebrows were furrowed.

"Sorry, Sir. I'll get to the point. After several hours, we found you unconscious and badly injured," she explained softly and added, "You also have a head injury. It's a miracle you're alive."

She didn't feel it was prudent to tell him he had to be revived on the way to the operating table. Her heart was breaking at the sight of his vulnerability. _Oh,_ _he's going to be trouble,_ she thought to herself regarding his impending long convalescence.

She continued. "You were on the operating table for five and a half hours."

He opened his eyes and attempted to focus on what she was saying. She continued slowly.

"It was touch and go . . ." She stopped midsentence and took a deep breath. She didn't want to tell him that he had to be revived once again during surgery.

"A handheld sarcophagus," O'Neill stated, staring intently at Carter, not having processed all of what she had said.

"Sir?" she asked.

O'Neill licked his lips and began his explanation with difficulty as he was still a bit fuzzy. "Mayor . . . one of the Ursi . . . handheld sarcophagus . . .strapped to his paw."

"Don't think there's such a thing, Jack," Daniel interrupted.

"Yes . . . there is," O'Neill replied with strained assurance while turning his head to face Daniel.

"No, don't think so," Daniel slowly reiterated, his eyebrows raised.

"Uh, huh!" O'Neill persisted.

"Nope," Daniel quickly replied, smiling slightly at their familiar exchange whenever their opinions differed.

Carter frowned at Daniel as a sign of chastisement. He shrugged his shoulders and furrowed his eyebrows slightly to communicate, _What?_

She offered O'Neill a sip of water. He sucked on the straw, swallowing the cool liquid, and continued. ". . . held it over me . . . ," and smiled slightly when he said, "warm light . . . "

He continued. ". . . healed my wound . . . closed it . . . no scar!"

The team looked at each other with raised eyebrows, in mock accord, not wanting to appear unbelieving.

He briefly told them, in stops and starts, about the Ursi, Bart and Lisa, the village, and the forest. The team disguised their mild amusement. Daniel turned away pretending to cough and Carter put a hand to her mouth in an effort to conceal a smile. Teal'c just raised his right eyebrow and remained stoic.

"Jack," Daniel said with as much respect as he could muster, "there are very potent pain killers dripping into your veins which might explain your dreams of, what did you call them, the Ursi?" he offered as he suppressed a smile.

"They chirped!" O'Neill added. " . . . couldn't understand . . . them. We used . . . sign language," he said sleepily, continuing with his attempt to convince his team. He was becoming increasingly irritated at trying to explain in a drugged stupor. ". . . don't know what scared them, though."

His senses were slowly peaking. The chirping noises next to his bed were getting louder.

"The chirping sounds . . . coming from those, eh?" he asked feebly as he slowly raised his arm and limply pointed to the life-sustaining machines.

"It would appear so, ColonelO'Neill," replied Teal'c matter-of-factly.

"Yes Sir," replied Carter gently. It was amazing to her how his unconscious mind converted the sounds of the infirmary into a seemingly believable fantasy.

With reality slowly returning, he sighed softly realizing sadly that his magical environment had not existed after all. He laid quietly with his eyes closed.

The rest of the team looked at each other, shaking their heads slightly at his unbelievable narrative.

Carter saw that he'd fallen asleep again. She was beginning to feel a bit sleepy herself, a feeling new to her for the first time since their return with O'Neill from planet P73-24B. She knew she should go home to rest, but she wanted to be by his side when he woke again.

Stifling a yawn, Daniel rubbed his hands slowly over his face in an effort to erase the fatigue that plagued him. Teal'c continued to stand guard, now at the foot of O'Neill's bed, standing motionless with his hands behind his back and his face void of expression.

O'Neill was dreaming again. He was holding his trusty P90 close to his body and his military pack rested on his back. Mayor, his "wife," and Bart and Lisa were standing silently in front of their hut, noses twitching and ears moving. Their paws were raised in a sign of farewell. O'Neill smiled and waved back as he turned and walked away, the warmth of the sun now on his face. He would miss the docile, gentle creatures.

Perhaps the Ursi exist, perhaps not. But he hoped he'd find them somewhere, sometime in the vast expanse of the cosmos because he would happily introduce his team to them and to their red spiky tomatoes!

 _ **THE END**_


End file.
